Calls to give driverless taxis a fresh run inWales
THEY were once touted as the transport of the future, with the aim of providing driverless taxis between Cardiff ’s city centre and Cardiff Bay.
But, more than a decade after the death of that hi-tech dream in the Welsh capital, the vision is making a comeback in London.
Fifteen years ago, Cardiff council had serious plans to adopt an Urban Light Transport (ULTra) taxi network as a transport link between Cardiff Bay and the city centre.
The city would have been the first to adopt such an innovative transport system.
ULTra even built a one-kilometre test track in Viking Place in Roath Docks, Cardiff, which is still used today to test the company’s automated vehicles.
But the city was refused two applications for grants to trial the technology.
In the intervening years, the lowenergy, driverless ULTra pods have found a home ferrying travellers between terminals at Heathrow Airport. A trial project of the next stage of the same technology, automated cars known as GATEway, is now being run on a two-mile route near London’s O2 Arena in North Greenwich.
Over the next three weeks, members of the public are being given the opportunity to try out the driverless shuttle pods, as they move around pedestrianised areas of Greenwich.
Five cameras and three lasers will help the vehicle navigate along a riverside path used by pedestrians and cyclists at up to 10mph, although there will also be a trained person on board who can stop the vehicle if required during the tests.
The developers are hoping the pods will eventually be used in a “smart city” network, where pods are hailed by smartphones and carry passengers the short distance from major transport hubs to their destination.
Officials behind the £8m GATEway Project believe the first paying passengers could use the system by 2019 on a trial basis, and it could eventually be rolled out to similar locations across the country.
It is hoped that the pods will reduce congestion and pollution in major cities in the UK, and eliminate the need for individuals to own their own cars.
The absence of cars could have a huge impact on city planning, including how housing estates and road infrastructure are designed.
Friends of the Earth Cymru’s joint acting director Bleddyn Lake said: “Driverless pods are an interesting initiative and it is good to see innovative ways being considered to reduce congestion on our roads and reduce damaging air pollution.
“Whilst these technologies are being tested to make sure they are safe and affordable, it is vital that we make sure that existing public transport methods are reliable, punctual, clean, safe and affordable.”
Some argue that the Welsh Government need to be investing in automated technology, as Wales need to compete in a market where jobs are being lost through automation.
Grenville Ham, leader of the Wales Green Party, said: “If you look at it from our perspective it’s less pollution, and as it encroaches on the market people will not be wasting money on cars, because the endgame is collective ownership. But alarm bells will be ringing because it’s starting to signal the loss of jobs.
“It’s another alarm bell that our government need to be waking up and investing in this automated technology.
“We have an opportunity to be at the forefront of that but at the moment the market is not delivering.”